GAZA, November 6, 2016 (WAFA) – Israeli authorities have postponed the expansion of the fishing zone of the besieged Gaza Strip, the Palestinian civil affairs administration said on Sunday.

Muhammad al-Maqadma, head of the administration’s media office, said in a statement that Israeli authorities had decided to postpone the expansion, which was supposed to enter into effect on November 6.

Maqadma said the Israeli authorities stipulated unrealistic preconditions for the expansion that the administration cannot meet.

Israeli authorities have planned to expand the fishing zone off the northern Gaza coast from the current six nautical mile , to nine nautical miles for the duration of the month of November.

Israel previously extended the fishing zone off Gaza’s southern coast to nine miles on April 3, before reducing it again to six miles on June 6, then re-extending the zone for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan due to an “abundance of fish” at the time.

M.N